MAGALIA — Berniece (Bea) Schmidt, 93, was taking care of up to 20 cats near the end of her life in Magalia.

Berniece and William Schmidt (Photo courtesy Pastor Rod Platte)

She and her husband William (Bill), who passed away around five years ago, never had children. So she directed her care toward animals and other members of the community, said her sister, Helen Van Drew. Schmidt always made sure to get the high-end food for the cats, whether they lived outside or inside her home.

“She would even feed the neighbor’s cat,” said Van Drew from Des Moines, Iowa. “That’s what kept her going.”

Schmidt grew up in Des Moines during the Depression with four siblings. Van Drew remembers singing in a duet with her at church. She moved to a mobile home in Magalia with her husband in the late 1970s. She had given up her driver’s license a few years ago and neighbors tried but were unable to get to her on Nov. 8.

“She was a good sister, and I sure miss talking to her every day like we did,” said Van Drew.

On the ridge, Schmidt was a devoted member of the Paradise Lutheran Church for decades. She would organize Christmas dinners for adults with disabilities in Chico and Paradise, said Pastor Rod Platte. She also led the quilting club and took care of the altar.

“She was a very feisty little lady,” said Platte. “When she got on a project, she was in charge. She was very opinionated, but I found her just delightful.”

The church held a memorial service for her according to her wishes this spring, placing her ashes with her husband’s in a memorial garden and singing “Leaning on Jesus.”